I am writing from Tashkent on what is, probably, the world’s slowest internet connection, ever. So I’ve now been in Uz for a few days. We are staying at a sanatorium in a town called Quibray. In case you want to know, a sanatorium is a place where, back in the day, people would come to relax and be pampered – kind of an in country vacation. But, as I said, that was back in the day. Now the sanatorium seems to be home to a fertility clinic. On one wall near the main building there is a large mural showing a happy white couple arms outstreched – on the other end of the mural, a stork carrying a little baby. So while the other half of the sanatorium’s guests are attempting to conceive… we are trying to get our bearings.

All and all it has been fun. For food, we go to this special building where 8 – 10 women scurry around serving us. There is breakfast, lunch, dinner and two coffee breaks. So, although some of the meat has a little more gristle or fat in it than I’m used to, we seem to be eating most of the time, which is keeping me happy. While not eating, we are sitting in a small auditorium learning about policies and health issues. We have also recently broken down into small group for language and culture instruction.

My initial reaction to my surroundings is that this once was a much more prosperous place. Although the large structures remain standing, much seems to be in a state of disrepair. The people here, since I am still near Tashkent, seem a good deal Russified. Of course, the further my site is from the large cities, the less this will be true. I’m very nervous about meeting my first host family, truthfully, and I hope not to offend them accidentally. I’m sure the little presents I’ve brought and the pictures on my camera will help facilitate some conversation and smiles.

I’m still in sensory overload mode – I think bitter depression is next, or at least so I hear from other RPCVs. 🙂 But I’m sure that I’ll have your comments and insights to look forward to.

From a very different place,

Dear all you loyal WD fans:

I have just completed the two days of staging. It took place at a beautiful hotel in the Society Hill area of Philadelphia. Run by a few Peace Corps staff, including a very good motivator and leader, we reviewed policies and general tactics crucial to our survival for the next two years. But more than that it was a great time to meet a bunch of the members of the group. Since there are close to sixty people, it is difficult to talk to everyone, but there were plenty of exercises (and meal excursions) to allow for that. I’ve purposely been expanding my comfort zone, even going so far as to initiate conversation myself! But seriously, I really like the make of this group. Most of the volunteers are in their early to mid twenties. There are some in their thirties, a middle aged couple, and two older folks, one lady is like 70. It is about 60% female and 40% male. Surprisingly, very few if any of the people seem like granola type hippies. Most look and act like professionals. Everyone is educated, and as our many skit type exercies showed, has a great sense of humor. Basically a mixture of laughter and serious thought for the past two days. Tomorrow I fly to Uzbekistan.

Here is the flag of Uzbekistan:

And here are a few images of Tashkent, the most modern city in Uzbekistan:

This is an official notice for all my blog reader(s) that I have been accepted to the Peace Corps and will be departing mid-January. My assignment is as a high school English teacher in Uzbekistan. The reason I’ve been fiddling with the mechanics of the blog is so that I can forget about it when I’m away there and hopefully concentrate on getting some quality content up as much as possible. Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia. Below are three successively detailed maps, which should help you figure out just where Uzbekistan is: